Why I Prefer Oaxaca
We expats are finding what we did not find “at home.” I retired in 2002, traveled for 5 years, went back “home” for 2 months and was bored to tears. Most of my friends had moved on (or I had moved on). I was just going back and forth between the computer and the TV. I thought, I could just die here in this chair! Where are you going to go…the mall? Similarly, my son married a Thai who was used to colorful life on the streets and brought her to the states on a 3 month tourist visa to see how she would like it. She hated it and went back a month early. I understood completely. Many of the comments I hear here I also hear from expats in Thailand.
As for why I am here and not somewhere else…I lived with a Mex-American family for 4 years of high school and then worked on behalf of the migrant community for 30 years…most of whom were from Oaxaca and for the last 10 years developed and administered a violence prevention/alternative ed program for Latino high school dropouts. I loved the families we were working with from Oaxaca and mentored several of the girls from the Mixteco. I wanted to come see the culture where they all were from and what made them who they are. 10 years later I am happily still here. But it is sad that we cannot find an authentic culture at home and have to “borrow” someone else’s.
Tags: About The Nomad, Mexico, Oaxaca, Oregon, Thailand, USA
Zoe
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